FHP now says alcohol not established as factor in fatal crash

Sunday

Jan 27, 2008 at 8:41 PM

By Fred HiersStaff Writer

ANTHONY - The Florida Highway Patrol is stepping back from a statement made Saturday that alcohol was likely a factor in the Saturday morning car crash on Greystone Airport that claimed the lives of five young Marion County men.

Investigators early on got information about the possible use of alcohol by the crash victims but don't have any physical evidence, FHP spokesman Lt. Mike Burroughs said on Sunday.

In interviews with the Star-Banner, friends of the victims have given varying accounts of what happened. But one friend said accident victim Isaac Rubin had told him some people meeting at the runway that night apparently had been drinking.

"In this terrible tragedy that took the lives of five local teenagers," Burroughs said, "there have been no physical signs at the crash scene to indicate this crash was alcohol-related.

"We are awaiting toxicology results from the Medical Examiner's Office that will determine whether or not alcohol or drugs was a contributing factor in the crash."

He went on to say FHP Capt. Jeff Succi's comments about alcohol likely playing a role was not the agency's current position. On Saturday Succi said the young men were reportedly at a party where alcohol was served, which may have been a contributing factor in the crash.

The five victims - Jacob James Casey, 19, James Devon Hime, 19, Joshua D. Ammirato, 18; Dustin J. Dawe,19; and Isaac Rubin, 20 - all died when the BMW that Ammirato was driving flew off the end of the airport runway in Anthony and slammed into a tree.

Their friends gave apparently contradictory accounts of what happened that Friday night and early Saturday morning before the crash.

Rubin's girlfriend, Natalie Thayer, whose parents own Jumbolair Aviation Estates adjacent to the runway, kneeled Sunday afternoon at the site of the accident, where the car slammed into a tree and was torn in half.

Thayer said she dropped Rubin off at a small party at the home of Joe and Jolane McAlister and their son Colin Brennan.

She said that, when she arrived at about midnight, a few of Rubin's friends were also there. Thayer said she did not see alcohol at the party. She said the party was low-key. She left after a few minutes and went home to bed.

"They seemed normal," Thayer said of the people at the party.

"I just stayed there briefly," she said. "I kissed him goodnight."

Greystone Airport is adjacent to Jumbolair Aviation Estates, which is a gated community where actor John Travolta lives. None of the boys lived in the development.

Thayer said she didn't know how her boyfriend and his four friends got to the runway because she didn't give him the code necessary to enter the subdivision.

Another friend of Rubin's told a different story.

Andrew Raymond said Rubin telephoned him at about 12:30 a.m. as he was leaving the McAlister home and they discussed meeting with friends at the runway later.

"He (Rubin) said he was leaving with a bunch of people," Raymond said. "They were going to stop at a store."

Raymond added that Rubin told him "most of the other people had been drinking. ... He said, 'I have a bunch of drunk people with him [me].'"

When asked whether Rubin said he and his friends were drinking at the McAlister home, Raymond replied that Rubin had not been specific about where they had been drinking that night.

At their home Sunday, Joe and Jolane McAlister would say little about the party. They referred questions to their lawyer, who would not comment on the incident.

Jolane McAlister did confirm that there had been a party at her home Friday night, which included her son, Colin, and a small group of his friends.

Asked whether there was alcohol available at the party, Jolane replied, "There was absolutely no alcohol."

"I'm very protective," she said, citing other children in the home she didn't want exposed to alcohol.

The McAlister home is also a 56-acre working farm with dozens of thoroughbred horses and young foals.

"This is a business," she said. "You can't hold parties."

Lt. Burroughs said toxicology reports would give the definitive answer to the question about whether alcohol was a factor in the crash.

"We respect the time of mourning for the families of each of these beloved teens," he said. "We have an obligation to deliver an accurate non-biased, comprehensive investigation to each of the families involved in this tragedy."

As for FHP's switching gears and now saying alcohol may not have played a role in the accident, Burroughs said: "The initial statements made by the FHP press release remain the official statement."

He went on to say Succi's earlier comments about alcohol likely playing a role was not the agency's current position.

"Information pertaining to the possible use of alcohol by the crash victims was obtained during the investigative phase and can only be supported by the toxicology report that will be received from the Office of the Medical Examiner," he said.

The toxicology report can take as long as 60 days to process, Burroughs said.

Fred Hiers can be reached at fred.hiers@starbanner.com or 352-867-4157.

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